


Lead me

by Haaska



Series: Burning Blue [2]
Category: The Technomancer
Genre: Angst, Co-workers to almost lovers to almost enemies to lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Medium Burn, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, betreyal, other ships might show up later, selling ur friends for a cornchip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-04-25 04:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14370738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haaska/pseuds/Haaska
Summary: If Jeff ever wondered what is it like to feel ten different emotions at the same time, he has a good opportunity to find out.





	1. Chapter 1

“Damn! I miss our military rations. Who would've thought?”

Dave froze in place with a glass in his hand. He didn’t turn around to look at the person whose cheerful voice was so familiar to him. Someone whose presence was impossible here. Who probably got killed long ago.

His muscles tensed as he heard footsteps behind him getting closer. He didn't turn his gaze to look back; couldn’t force himself to do it. Wasn’t ready to see an empty space that would only ensure him that he’d been getting crazy, hearing things that are not real only because he really wanted them to be true.

“You wouldn't believe what I had to eat on my way here. Did you know that almost every part of an ostrich is edible if you're hungry enough?”

Jeff sat down on the table next to Dave and took a piece of dried meat from his plate, like he often did back in Ophir. He put the food in his mouth and started chewing like he hadn’t eaten anything in days. Dave sat there, paralyzed, and finally forced himself to look at the newcomer.

The man looked different than Dave remembered. He probably ditched the infamous heavy armor long ago and was wearing what David thought was a light ASC uniform, very damaged and weathered by the sun. One sleeve was torn off, exposing sunburnt muscular arm heavily bruised just above the elbow, like it had been grazed by something resembling mole’s claws. Jeff’s cheeks were hollow and he had dark circles under his eyes. But it was still Jeff. Alive.

"What?" Jeff asked with his mouth full. “You wanted to eat it?” he added, his voice trailing off, and he looked away, perhaps to hide the fear in his eyes, and if Dave wasn't so shook, he would've notice that Jeff shifted his weight on the seat as if he wanted to make a potential run easier.

Dave put the glass away and moved in Jeffrey's direction.

Jeff reacted quickly, tossing the food away and trying to jump as from Dave as possible, but the soldier was faster. He grabbed Jeff by his hand and pulled him back, then grabbed both of his arms, holding the hunter in place.

“Ow ow ow!” Jeff whined half-jokingly but didn't try to pry himself away from him, perhaps still unsure if Dave wanted to kill him or not, and full of doubts that he would be able to escape anyway.

“Is that really you?”

“What, you want to say you weren’t waiting for me?”

Before Jeffrey could react, Dave pulled him into a hug, leaving him unable to breathe. The hunter stood stiff and suddenly Dave felt a sting of fear that he will be pushed away, but then he felt Jeff's hands clutching desperately to the shirt on David's back, and the hot breath on his skin as hunter buried his face in soldier's neck.  He held him tight, chin rested on top of his head. His breath was ragged, just like Jeff's.

\- Oh, shit, you’ve been working out. - Jeff broke the silence and the soldier groaned, but he sounded amused rather than annoyed. They stood like this for a while, then Dave pulled him away, at arm's distance and put one hand on Jeff’s neck, squeezing it gently. He examined his face and laughed, like he couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Damn, you look like shit, rookie.”  

Jeff grinned and raised one eyebrow confidently.

“Can’t say the same about you, big guy.”

The comment took David aback. His smile dropped and his cheeks burnt red, which made Jeff grin even wider.

“I, uh….”

The sudden movement and loud chatter coming from the top of the metal platform leading to the rover parking spot saved him further embarrassment. Dave shot a quick look in that direction, trying not to alarm Jeff who apparently hadn’t heard a thing. The young technomancer, Andrew, was carrying some equipment to the rover. Phobos was right behind him, bringing some of the heavier boxes. It seemed that Zach and his crew were getting ready to leave. And they were usually doing mission briefings right next to the table Dave and Jeff were standing next to.

Dave stared back at Jeff and let him go, looking serious all of a sudden.

“We should go to my room. It’s not good to stay in the open for now.”

“...ok?”

Jeff looked at him with a puzzled expression, but remained silent. Dave started making his way to the shack, listening to his friend’s footsteps close behind him. He usually stayed close when he felt nervous. Dave wondered how long will it take him to break the silence.

"So, uh, made any friends here?" the man behind him asked.

Not long. Dave smiled despite himself.

"A few. None of them as annoying as one old friend."

He knew it was tension that was making Jeff chatty, but Dave was nervous, too. They both knew they should clarify a few things before going back to the old routine, so it's better to do it now and have this over with. Dave couldn’t stop thinking about how furious he was with Jeff for the past few weeks. He didn’t even know about his affiliation with the ASC until he spoke with Zach here, in Noctis. And since such a traitorous act as letting the most-wanted technomancer escape was most likely a death sentence in the eyes of the ASC, he highly doubted that Jeff had been alive.

He felt conflicted now. Betrayed, hurt, and so damn happy.

They reached the shack. Dave sighed and opened the door, trying to calm his racing heart.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Jeff ever wondered what is it like to feel ten different emotions at the same time, he has a good opportunity to find out.

_ so please stay _

_ I need you so bad _

_ still in back of my head _

_ there's nobody else _

_       -xxanaxx - stay _

 

 

 

Jeff entered the shack and looked around. The room was spacious, there was a desk by the right wall and a bed by the left, and some personal stuff at the back of the room next to a small door, probably leading to a bathroom.

“Nice place you've got there. Decorated it yourself?” Jeff nodded his head towards an Abundance shield, hanging on the wall. It was a bit dusty.

“It's safer here than it looks” Dave replied and closed the door behind him.”I don’t need to carry it everywhere with me.”

“And looks good on the wall”

The air felt heavy. 

“So, um… You live here alone?”

_ Just shut up already _ \- Jeff thought to himself, fully aware that he couldn’t stop yapping when stressed out. The worst part was, it was the rookie taking control over him. He’d never been like that before. Ugh.

“Alone? Yeah, most of the time.”

_ Most of the time…? What was that supposed to mean?  _ Well, Rookie wanted to take control, rookie got his punishment. Jeff grunted a quiet “Right” and walked to the back of the room, then turned around to look at Dave.  

“You wanted to talk about something in particular or…?” 

“Actually, yeah, I did.”

_ Uh-oh. Here it comes.  _ He watched as Dave covered the windows with blinds and turned around. He looked serious.

“I’m really glad to see you here, alive. Seriously… you have  _ no idea  _ how relieved I am.”

Jeff tried to say something, but Dave raised his hand and stopped him. “It doesn’t change the fact that you have some explaining to do.”

If Jeffrey had even a tiny bit of hope left that Dave didn’t know about his affiliation with the ASC, it had vanished. Jeff tried to think of a smooth way to explain his past decisions but decided that this was not something he should bullshit his way through. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned on the desk. The silence felt heavy, and he knew he had to be careful with his words.

Dave leaned on the doorway and crossed his arms. A few moments passed, and they felt like eternity. 

“Okay. What do you want to know?” Jeff asked finally, his voice serious, drained from all the excessive cheer and enthusiasm it was always filled with. 

“Why?”

Jeff fixed his eyes to the ceiling and rubbed his neck from frustration. He had known this one was coming and yet he couldn’t find the right words.

“Shit, I don't know, maybe because I didn't want to spend my whole life as cannon meat?” He mentally slapped himself in the face before he even finished the sentence _. Suggesting that Dave’s aspiration is to be cannon meat is not the smartest way to start this conversation, rookie. You took that long to find a perfect insult? _ He decided to start again, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard. “Because I’ve had enough of seeing Aurora kids forced to play soldiers and Abundance troops forced to kill them. Because I knew I can achieve more by doing less damage.“ Jeff noticed that David’s expression softened a bit. 

Dave examined him for a while and said, “And what about the rest?”

Jeff held his breath.  _ You are not going to go easy on me, are you? _

“The rest of what?”

David rolled his eyes and sighed.

“You. How much of this…” he looked him up and down, with an irritated expression on his face. “...is true? Are you, whoever the hell you are, still pretending to be that hunter guy I knew from Ophir? Because the way you’re behaving behaving right now? It’s Jeff. And from what you say, you’re not Jeff.” David’s jaw twitched and his muscles tensed. He stood straight now. “So, the question is, who are you,  _ really _ ?” 

“it's…” Jeff stopped middle sentence and let out a frustrated groan. ”It's more complicated than it seems.”

“Explain it to me, then. We have all the time in the world.”

_ Wow, was that a threat?  _ Jeff thought, and he realized that Dave was blocking the only way out of this room. Was he really ready to off him right now if he didn’t get a satisfying answer, or was Jeff just paranoid? He didn’t know, but he knew for sure he wasn’t going to lie to him anymore, no matter where it could get him. He took a few careful steps and stopped right in front of David. He didn’t move, and just looked at him, with so much anger in his eyes. Anger and betrayal. It hurt. Jeff didn’t turn his gaze away. He deserved it. 

“My name  _ is _ Jeffrey and I am a hunter, but I also have a few years worth of intense training in other fields. Espionage, politics, survival, hand to hand combat. You only saw the hunter part. And downgraded, too.”

“Figured as much. What else?”

“No one threatened my family to force me to work with them, but you already know that part. And I didn’t know they were doing this to others. I’ve never met other ASC operatives, besides the ones who were giving me orders.The time I spent with you, I was gathering all the information I could about Zach and other mancers. And everyone close to him.”

“On me, too?”

Jeff hesitated for a second, but decided that there’s no point in lying now.

“Yes.”

“Fuck.” David swore through gritted teeth. He looked even more frustrated now. ”You know what they could do to my family if your report wasn't satisfying? If they learned that I fucked up my job?”

Jeffrey felt his chest growing tight as bile rose in his throat. 

“Dave, I didn’t know. Not until it was too late. Besides, you didn't really do anything suspicious. Took me a bit to learn that you're a spy, too.”

“But you found out eventually. Did you tell Viktor?” 

“No. At first I thought you joined by choice. And when I found out you didn’t, I just couldn't force myself. I covered you a few times, too. I even left a note in your locker once to show you how bad your lock was.” He scratched his chin and made a sheepish face. ”Didn’t really help.”

Dave’s head dropped, he put a hand to his face and sighed heavily. He stood like this for a moment. 

His hand dropped and he finally looked up.

“I thought I put it there to read it later and forgot.”

Jeff noticed that Dave's expression had changed. His cheeks blushed a little, like he was embarrassed.  He looked exhausted too, since the adrenaline rush was probably gone. 

“What am I going to do with you?” The man sighed.

“Keep me as house service?”

Dave laughed, probably surprising them both.

“No can do. Your bunk was always a mess.”

“Hey! Not nice!” 

Dave raised one eyebrow and ruffled Jeff's hair as he passed him by. He sat on the bed and rested his elbows in his knees, looking at Jeffrey, who stared at the floor in front of him to hide the blush. His heart was racing. 

“Anything else I should know?” David’s voice was almost completely calm now. The interrogation seemed to be over then. Jeff would’ve jumped if he wasn’t that tired. “I want to have this finally over with.”Dave rubbed his temple as if he felt a headache coming.

“Acting.”

“What?”

Jeff grinned and he walked to the desk slowly, then grabbed a chair and sat down on it backwards, facing David. He knew that Dave hated waiting for answers, but he missed their old routine too much to pass this opportunity. Dave squinted at him. Bingo.

“I was taking acting lessons.”

Dave snickered. “No way.”

“Yeah, and I was really good at it.” Jeff flashed his teeth in a confident smile. He leaned on the chair’s back and locked his fingers.”They almost offered me a role in a drama. I might show you bits one day. We were doing parts of some old world play, and I was playing this tragic lover with a funny name who dies at the end with his loved one beside him. I nailed it. Even the mentor cried.” He expected Dave to call out this obvious lie, but the ward only shifted on the bed and turned his gaze away. Jeff frowned and felt panic building up again.  _ Great job, rookie! Not sure how, but you fucked up! _ “Or, uh, we can skip it if you’re not a fan of drama. I don’t really want to see you crying anyway.“ He winced at his own words. What the hell was happening to him? 

“It’s not that. It’s just…” Dave rubbed his neck and sighed. “What was between us… Was that fake too?”

Jeff froze, for once not sure what to say.  He wasn't expecting him to ask that question. He didn't even know what Dave thought of what was between them. It's not like they were in a relationship back in Ophir. They certainly had something going on, or at least Jeff did, but he always thought that Dave tried to push it… push  _ him _ away. 

“So?” 

Jeff blinked and realized that he was staring at him with his mouth half-open. He wished the chair’s back was taller so he could hide his face behind it. His heart started beating faster, again, and he thought that surviving in the desert was probably easier than his reunion with the ward.

“No. Nothing of what was between us was fake. Or planned. You were the element of surprise.”

Dave tried to hide his relief, but again, Jeff was very perceptive.

“I hope that part is true, hunter.”

Jeff nodded.

“I won’t lie to you no more.

“I know.”

Dave smiled and patted his arm. He stood up and started searching something in his bag at the back of the room. After a while, he found a complete set of clean-ish clothes.

“Here, take these. You need them. That, and the shower. It’s in the back.”

“Wow, you give me your clothes just like that? No yelling?”

“Don’t get used to it.”

Jeff smirked and stood up, and grabbed a small bundle from Dave’s hand. A few weeks on the road with nothing to change probably made him look like a homeless junkie. He started unbuttoning what was left of his uniform, eager to clean the dust and dried up blood from his skin.

“I have to take care of a few things.” Dave spoke up and strapped his mace to his belt. “It might take a while. Don’t leave the room until I’m back.”

“Why, want to keep me for yourself?”Jeff tried to joke, expecting to see Dave looking annoyed with that comment, but the soldier only turned around to grab a tablet from his desk. Jeffrey knit his eyebrows in bewilderment and kicked his boots off. He wanted to get rid of his dirty clothes more than anything right now. “Well, no need to lock the door, I won’t leave if…”

“Zachariah is here.” Dave interrupted him, not even looking up from the tablet. 

Jeff froze in place, just when he started pulling his shirt off. He looked at Dave, not even trying to hide the sudden rush of panic. 

“ **What?”**

Dave inhaled heavily and rubbed his neck. 

“Just stay here for a bit. I should check in with him and make sure they won’t shoot you the moment they see you. Surprised they haven’t yet.”

“That’s… very comforting.” Jeff tried to escape from his tangled shirt, which would probably have looked hilarious if it wasn’t for the bruises and scratches, covering most part of his body. Dave rolled his eyes and pulled the material of hunter’s shirt down. Jeff looked at him with a meek expression.

“Thanks. Sooo… what do you think Zach will do? Invite me for tea? Pat me on the back? Shoot my kneecaps?” He was blabbing again, but he couldn’t stop himself. 

A few months ago, he wouldn’t have been so worried about squatting right under enemy forces’ nose - he had been doing it long enough to be comfortable with it. He could lie or fight his way through most situations. 

Right now, however, he was a shadow of the person he used to be, and people he would have to hide from if things went south knew him too well. And the fact that it was the lieutenant… that it was  **Zach** and his group he was talking about made it even worse. He wasn’t ready to leave the city just yet. Not after he’d just arrived, barely making it to the city walls alive. 

Not after he just found Dave.

Until today, he was so sure Dave saw him as a fellow squadmate and nothing more. Even after these few times that almost made him think otherwise.

Like the short moments when they were fighting alongside and Jeff got himself swarmed by locust. On purpose, of course, since he had to act like a rookie, but every single time Dave was next to him within seconds, the sight of a shield in his hand and a determined expression, making Jeff’s heart skip a beat.

Or like that one time they bumped into each other at Curiosity’s and Jeff got wasted to the point when he could barely walk, so Dave had to escort him to bed, and since Dave’s sleeping room was much closer and Jeff was much heavier than he looked, he was put in the ward’s bed. And when Dave was getting ready to leave and find some other place to sleep in, he grabbed his hand and asked him to stay. And Dave agreed. 

And he was acting so different then. 

Jeff had been asking Dave the most stupid questions he could think of - and a serious, prophetic one that apparently bit Jeff in the ass - and Dave was lying beside him, one hand under his head because Jeff took his pillow, answering every single dumb question with patience he’d never shown before. 

The next day was tough for both of them - not so much for Dave though, at least after Jeff lied that he doesn’t remember anything from last night (which, he decided, was the best option, given the fact that he woke up alone and when he finally found Dave, the ward’s face got all red from embarrassment and he couldn’t even look him in the eye).

Jeff, on the other hand, had his head full of questions, such as:

“Why did I get drunk, even though the lesson number one was “don’t get drunk while spying on people that might be a threat to you?”

“Is revealing vital information while being wasted considered a treason?”

“What is Viktor doing with traitors anyway?”

“Is it wrong to have a crush on your fellow squadmate?””

And all of the answers were putting him in a bad light. Ah, shit.

 

 

** _A lifetime earlier, Ophir_ **

** **

 

“Whaddya think of moles?” Jeff murmured, half aslee p, staring at the ceiling of the sleeping room with Dave lying next to him. The bunk wasn’t big, so their arms were touching. Neither of them seemed to mind.

“Hate them.”

“Locust?” 

“Hate it too.”

“And the ticks?”

“Ew, I totally hate them.”

“Waking up early?”

“I actually like it.”

“And mancers?”

“I tolerate them if I have to.”

“And hunters?”

“Can’t survive a serious blow, but they make do.”

“Oh, we can take a blow, trust me.”

Dave snickered and ruffled his hair with one hand. 

“U-huh. I bet.”

Jeff giggled, too, and turned his head to the side to look at Dave. He could barely focus his eyes enough to see him.

“Whatsyer favorite color?”

“Get some sleep, rookie.”

“Hey, m’not a rookie.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Nooo, I’m really… **really** not.”

Dave let out a pleased “huh” and laughed quietly.

“Shadows, you’re stubborn. Okay, you’re not. Green.”

“M’not green!” Jeff argued, raising his voice more than he should. Dave hissed and put a hand on his mouth. Waking the whole sleep room up was probably not a good idea.

“My favorite color is green. Shut your piehole, rookie.” he whispered and looked at Jeff’s half-angry and definitely drunk face.

“Mmmnnhn mmm  mmhmhmm.”

“What was that?” Dave asked, amused. He waited a few seconds and took hand off his mouth, ready to silence him again if needed. Jeff grabbed his hand to prevent it from happening. Or just to hold it.

“I’m not a rookie. And I’ll be quiet.”

“I’ll leave if you won’t be.”

“Would you really?” he asked, sounding so sad that Dave couldn’t help but snicker once again. He was so lightheaded now, so intoxicated, and yet he knew it’s not because of the alcohol. He waited a few seconds before he answered, examining Jeff’s face. He felt like he was getting himself into trouble, but was completely at peace with it. 

“No, I won’t. Don’t want you to fall off my bed and break your neck. I won’t stand Zachariah trying to have a small talk with me all the time.”

He lied flat on the bed again and closed his eyes. Thinking more of it, he actually was drunk. Drunk enough to let his guard down and forget about some of the things that made him feel like trash. Enough to feel at ease.

And the chance that Jeff won’t remember a thing from what he was saying right now was very high, so what the hell, he thought. Why not act like he wasn’t knees deep in shit, at least for this night? He deserved that much. 

As his thoughts started trailing off, Jeff’s voice brought him back.

“Daaave?”

“Hm?”

“D’ya think Noctis exists?”

“What kind of question is that?” he murmured, actually intrigued. 

“I’d... like t’see it one day. Will you show it to me?“

“Where did you heard that bedtime story? About Noctis?”

“From people.” He replied and and sighed heavily. Dave raised an eyebrow and put his weight on one elbow take a better look at Jeff.

“What’s the matter, rookie?”

“S’nothing.“

“Doesn’t look like “nothing” to me.”

“Just want to get away sometimes, y’know?”

Dave knit his eyebrows together and shook his head. This conversation was going into a direction he hadn’t expected. 

“And why Noctis, of all places?”

“Far away?“

“And how will we find it?”

“T’s okay. I have a good source of n’formation.”

“You sure do.” Dave felt more and more sleepy with every minute. He made himself comfortable once more and felt like he was dozing off. He closed his eyes, trying not to focus on the warmth Jeff’s body radiated. “But if it’s real, I can take you there. Promise.”

“Thanks. I’ll hold you to your word.”

“Sure. Now get some sleep.”

“I want to do something first.”

“What now?”

He felt Jeff shifting on the bed. He got no answer, but he suddenly felt Jeff's lips on his own.

Dave felt dizzy all of sudden, but he knew the alcohol wasn't the cause.  He put his hand on Jeff's neck, pulled him closer and kissed him back, slow and gently, and even though Jeff tasted like cheap synthetic gin, it was the sweetest taste he could imagine.

Maybe it was an answer after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst! So much angst!  
> I had ten different ideas of what to put in this chapter and ended with this. Which is a mix of three of these things. I hope you enjoyed it!  
> By the way, I'm a bit afraid that I'm putting too much Fallout's Deacon in Jeffrey. Can't help myself; the more I think about Jeff, the more he reminds me of Deeks. I hope it's not that visible in the fic!
> 
> I want to thank our discord group for being a great support. You guys are the best, I love all of you.  
>  And thanks to Bleedinblues for making me love this ship. Your art is amazing, and it motivated me to write this chapter. And I've put scenes from two of your drawings in this chapter. But in this scenario it was Jeff who got wasted. Very very special thanks to Chains aka "Patience" who is the best beta reader I could've hope for. And she laughs only a bit at my bad writing. I wish everyone such a good beta. <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff's being held captive. But it's not as bad as it sounds.

 

David came back to his shack three hours later to find Jeffrey sleeping peacefully on the bed. He was laying on his stomach and his left hand, dangling off the corner, was almost touching the floor. His snores were barely audible with his face half-buried in a pillow. He was wearing only David’s training pants and the diffused light coming from partially covered windows made all the scars and scratches on his back more visible.

Dave closed the door quietly and decided not to wake him up, even though he was tempted to share the good news right away. 

He sat down on the chair and took his tablet from the desk. 

Ever since Zach started showing up in Noctis, Dave was keeping track of how often and for how long the technomancer and his crew were leaving for their assignments.

Not because spying on others was his habit now. He was trying to make himself useful and pay off the debt he thought he had. And even though Zach had made it clear that Dave didn’t owe him a thing, Dave knew better. He would be a dead man if it wasn't for the mancer. 

So, from now on, he was keeping records of how much resources they used for every mission and was making sure they were stocked with enough fuel, food and water to survive the next one. From time to time, he would check the market and the wasteland around Noctis in search for spare parts for Amelia’s rover. He was even helping her with repairs when she’d have her hands full. Which, according to Andrew, was a big deal, since no one else was permitted to touch the vehicle.

Zach was keeping him updated on when and where they were leaving. That’s how Dave knew that in an hour or so, they'd be on another week-long journey to clear out mole nests that had sprouted near their neighbor villages. 

Just enough time for Jeff to settle in. 

Dave tapped the tablet and opened the supply list to check what needed to be ordered. He tried to do some basic calculations, but realized quickly that he was completely unable to focus.

He put the tablet away with a sigh and looked at Jeff. The hunter looked so miserable. He’d certainly lost a few pounds. David could see a subtle outline of his ribs he’d never seen before that contrasted with his muscular build. Fresh scars and cuts were covering a big part of his back and sides and most of them looked like they were caused by a sandstorm. His arm, dangling off the bed, was bruised and scratched above the elbow. Left temple carried a sign of a recent fight - a deep, nasty cut looked like it was only days old and had just started to heal. There was also a lightning burn on the hunter’s right shoulder blade, although Dave could barely see it from where he was sitting. He narrowed his eyes and crouched next to the bed, trying to take a better look at the scar.

He put one hand on the mattress next to Jeff’s head and leaned over him. He held his breath, even though the sound of his thudding heart was probably loud enough to wake the hunter up, and inspected the scar closely. It looked like a lightning cluster in the shade of dark blue, big enough to cover most of his shoulder blade. The skin around it had a bright shade of red with no signs of dead tissue. He’d seen similar scars before, while serving under Zach.

“Dave?” The ward backed off immediately and forced himself not to turn around and run. Jeff put his weight on one elbow and looked at David in a sleepy disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“Living?”

The hunter squinted at the light coming from the window and took a quick look around the room. He looked confused. “Waaait, am I where I think I am?”

Dave shrugged his shoulders.

“In Noctis, yes.”

“Oh, fuck.” Jeff dropped flat on the mattress. “I thought it was another dream.” The hunter yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“I don’t think it is.” Dave replied and just then realized what Jeff had said. “Wait, wait, wait. Another dream?”

Jeff stopped rubbing his eyes but didn't remove his hands from the face. It took him a few seconds to respond, and when he finally did, he had this jokey voice that drove Dave mad.

“Yes, David. I have dreams sometimes, you know" 

Dave regretted asking. 

He stood up and sat down on the chair right next to the bed. He grabbed the tablet again, even though he was too distracted to work on the supply list. It didn’t really matter. He just needed something to keep his hands busy.

“You slept well?”

Jeff yawned again and stretched. Dave was glad he had something else to look at.

“Yeah, your mattress is a bit too soft, but I think I could get used to it.” 

Was he suggesting something? Dave glanced up from the tablet, but Jeff was staring at the ceiling with one hand under his head, and he seemed lost deep in thought. It took him a while to to wake up from this trance, but when he did, he sounded like his typical cheerful self. 

“No angry Zach in sight. He barely let me go the last time I saw him.” The hunter shot him a curious glance. “Did you charm him? Bribe him? Lock him up somewhere?” He squinted at Dave and whispered, rather loudly. “Did you kill him? Did you at least hide the body?” 

“Will you stop talking and let me speak?” Dave responded, but he was pleasantly surprised by this sudden flood of words. He expected Jeff to be stressed out and quiet, and there he was, babbling like always. “I told him you’re clean. He will want to talk to you, just not right now. They had to leave for a few days.”

“So you did charm him after all. Didn’t know you have a silver tongue.” 

Dave shot him an unimpressed look.

“They weren’t happy when I told them that you’re here, Jeff.”

Jeff waved his hand dismissively.

“I will deal with that when they’re back.” The hunter stood up from the bed and walked to the other side of the room barefoot. “How long did you say they would be away?”

“A few days, up to a week.” David rested his elbow on chair’s back and followed Jeff with his gaze as he was trying to dig out some fresh clothes from a pile that hadn’t been there a few hours ago. He finally found a shirt and put it on. “You could use this time to stay here and rest. And you should. You look terrible.”

Jeff turned to Dave, let out a soft gasp and clutched his chest dramatically.

“I just  _ showered _ for you.”

“And everyone will be grateful. But seriously.” Dave stood up in front of Jeff and looked him in the eyes. “You look exhausted. Maybe you should stay for a bit.”

“Sooo…” Jeff crossed his arms on his chest and looked at the ward with a sly smile. “Do you really want keep me here for yourself?”

Dave could feel his cheeks burning. Comments like this always pissed him off before, so he couldn’t understand why he felt different now.

“I, uhh…” He felt like his brain had frozen. He cleared his throat and tried again. “No, of course you can leave.”

He noticed that Jeff could barely keep himself from laughing at this sudden show of embarrassment. 

“Are you kicking me out then?” 

Dave felt more frustrated than he had in the past weeks. He forgot that talking with the hunter always required patience. He waited a few seconds, took a deep breath and started again.

“No, that's not what I meant. You should stay here until I find you somewhere else to be. But you’re free to go if you want.”

“Great, I want to see the city then.” Jeff patted his arm and headed to the exit. “And you will show me around. Let’s go.”

“Not so fast.”

Dave grabbed his arm to stop him and Jeff turned around with a surprised expression on his face.

“You’re wounded. I will patch you up first.”

“But Dave.” Jeff whined and grabbed his hurt arm impatiently. “The city.”

The ward shot him a stern look and moved to the desk. He took a med kit from the drawer. 

“Sit down.” He moved to the bed, took out a small flask of alcohol from the box and started disinfecting a sewing needle. 

“And here I thought you didn't feel like torturing me today.” 

Dave glanced up at the hunter and smiled. “If that helps, I won’t let you out until all of your wounds are taken care of. So if you want to see the city, take off your shirt, sit down and don’t move.”

“Thanks! It didn’t help.” - Jeff said mockingly but did as he was told.

David put a bandage on the hunter’s arm, cleaned a few scratches and sewed up one cut on his chest that hadn’t even started to heal. Jeff was visibly afraid of needles, it seemed, but he was trying to act tough. Dave decided to let him have it. At least this time. When he was done, he moved on the bed to take a better look at the hunter’s back.

The scar on his shoulder blade was healing nicely. Dave put a hand on it to keep the man from moving and inspected the scar up close, trying not to focus on how warm Jeff’s skin was.

“You fought with a technomancer?” He wanted to sound casual, but he knew his voice was a bit off. “Zach made this?”

“Not really, and no.” - Jeff answered with no further explanations. 

Dave felt a sting in his chest. He  _ knew _ this scar was dealt by a technomancer. He touched it gently with a gauze to clean it from dust. Jeff hissed.

“You want to talk about this?”

“It wasn’t a fight is what I meant.” That voice again. So cheerful and carefree, as if they weren’t talking about Jeff getting tortured or attacked or Shadow knows what else. “More of an accident. And hey, I have a cool scar now. Who wouldn’t want to have cool scar like that?”

Dave shook his head and smiled despite himself. He felt hurt that Jeff didn’t trust him enough to admit what happened, but for some reason he couldn’t hold it against the hunter. If he wanted to keep it a secret, Dave had no means to press him on that topic.  
“Glad to see your priorities are just as solid as they were, rookie.”  
“Just admit you’re jealous.”

“I am. Okay, turn around now.”

Dave put a hand on Jeff’s chin to raise his head a bit and have a better look at the side of his face. He leaned over him slightly and examined the wound on his temple. The cut was uneven and there were a few grains of sand in the wound that needed to be cleaned out before stitching it. He touched it gently with a piece of bandage soaked in alcohol. 

“Ow!”  
“Sorry, did that hurt?”  
“...No.”  
Dave snickered and suddenly felt like his heart was dancing around his chest. It was overwhelming and so sudden that it left Dave breathless. This single reply, so predictable ad so Jeff-like made him realize how much he’d missed the rookie. He’d never felt like this before, not with such intensity.

“What have you gotten yourself into?” he murmured and looked in Jeff’s bright blue eyes. The hunter looked back and smiled tenderly.

“Some trouble.” 

They stared at each other for a few seconds, with Dave’s hand still on hunter’s chin. Jeff’s gaze dropped to ward’s lips for a second and they both held their breaths. 

The sudden roaring sound of rover’s engine made them both jump in surprise. Jeff cleared his throat and backed off and David felt like he had to keep his hands busy, so he started preparing tools to sew the last wound. His face felt like it was burning. 

For the first time since he left Ophir, Dave felt an urge to punch the mancer. 

“Zach can’t just leave a town without making a noise, right?” Jeff joked. 

“Yup. Nothing has changed.” - Dave replied with a smile and held hunter’s chin again to sew the cut, although this time there were no sparks nor deep gazes, only the faint aura of embarrassment hanging in the air.

They were done within a few minutes. Dave packed the medkit and Jeff got dressed in the ward’s clothes. Once he was done, he stood beside Dave, facing the exit. He put his hands on his hips, made a serious face and spoke in his most theatrical voice. 

“Finally, I’m free of torture and captivity.” 

Dave smiled and rolled his eyes. Jeffrey put one hand on ward’s arm and continued.

“Now, lead me, my brave ward, for I am about to go on a long journey through this wonderful city straight up from the bedtime stories.”

The smile on Dave’s lips faltered.

“What did you just say?”

Jeff let his arms drop, then he smirked and shot the ward a quick look.

“You promised, remember?”

“Motherf…”  - Dave said through gritted teeth and punched Jeff's arm. 

“Ow, you wound me.” Jeff laughed nervously and held his arm, acting like it really hurt.

“I can't believe it.” Dave ran a hand through his short hair. He didn’t know what to think. He felt tense and relieved at the same time. The memory of that one night in the army barracks was on his mind more often than he was comfortable to admit, and for all that time he was sure he’d overstepped a certain boundary.

“You know, I think I prefer you drunk. Less punching, more hugging.” Jeff rubbed his arm looked away. He was rarely looking away like that. 

“So, you remember? All of it?”

“A bit.” Dave raised one eyebrow and crossed his arms on his chest. Jeff shifted his weight. “Okay, everything.”

Dave shook his head in disbelief.

“So why did you pretend you didn’t remember?”

“So you wouldn’t feel Vik’s breath on your neck. And I didn’t know you are on his payroll back then. Besides…” He stood straight and looked the ward in the eyes with amusement. “You acted like nothing happened, too. And...”

“...for the same reason.” He finished the sentence with Jeff. This was ridiculous. The absurdity of the whole situation along with the tension apparently triggered their defence mechanisms, because they both started laughing and it took them a long while to calm down.

“Goddamn Dicktor.” Dave said as he tried to catch a breath. He noticed that Jeff has that smug look on his face he always had before saying something bold. “Okay, what?”

“You’re a good kisser. For a ward.”

“”For a ward”? And what was that supposed to mean?”

“Hey, it was a compliment. Learn to take them, buff guy.”

“Gotta learn how to give them, rookie.”

“Great, now you have to heal another burn. Hope you’re happy.”

Dave snickered. He ruffled Jeff’s hair and suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly. 

“I'm glad to have you back.”

Jeff didn’t answer, instead he hugged him back and purred softly in his neck. Dave could feel goosebumps on his skin, but he didn’t want to let go, so they stood in place for a while.  

“Guess we should go before it gets dark.”

Jeff let out a quiet “mhm” and pried himself away from the ward. Dave could feel like he missed the touch of his skin already. 

Jeff put one hand on David’s arm and faced the exit.

“Lead the way.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter took 10 years of of my life and I'm glad I finished 
> 
>  
> 
> Hugs to our tech discord group for keeping me motivated. <3 
> 
> Special thanks to stunt_pilots  for beta reading/rewriting the whole thing/leaving valuable comments/analyzing the technomancy. You're the best beta reader anyone could ever ask for.
> 
> And thanks to urdnot_wrecks for one specific correction. You know which one ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


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